Husband To Rebuild House Where Death Hit Home

HAMPTON — Michelle Hart's widower says he will stay in the home where she was killed by what police say was a joyrider.

A 12-foot-wide swath of plywood covers the hole where a Jeep smashed through the vinyl siding of Tracy Hart's home Saturday, killing his wife.

Hart came home again Tuesday, with his two young daughters, for the first time since the accident. He'll rebuild the house, he said, and he'll stay.

"I think that's what my wife would have wanted," he said.

Hart, an aviation electronics technician at Naval Station Norfolk, met with news media in front of his Pembroke Avenue home Tuesday afternoon.

Michelle Hart was killed on a rainy afternoon three days earlier by what police describe as a joyriding 14-year-old.

Police say the teen commandeered a Jeep in which he had been a passenger when the driver stopped at a convenience store on Mercury Boulevard, about a minute's drive from Hart's home. The driver left the Jeep running with the teen and a 12-year-old in the back seat. The 14-year-old climbed into the front seat and took the car for a spin, according to police.

The teenager lost control of the Jeep on the rain-slicked street a few blocks away and barreled across the Harts' grassy lawn, over shrubs, onto a porch and through the front of the home, striking Michelle Hart as she watched TV on the couch.

Prosecutors plan to try the teen as an adult on felony murder charges in Hart's death. The 12-year-old also faces felony murder charges, though he will be tried as a juvenile.

In the breezy sunshine Tuesday, the Harts' home seemed tidy and complete, aside from the plywood covering its front, and a bare beam on the porch that replaced one broken in the crash.

The green lawn looked lush, the ornamental shrubs were unshaken, and banners and statues were perfectly placed in the garden. On the porch, two white rocking chairs were angled slightly to face each other. The wind rocked one.

Tire tracks on the cement deck marked the Jeep's path into the house.

Speaking to the press on the lawn, Tracy Hart held a smiling portrait of him and his wife.

He wanted to thank the Navy and his neighbors, he said. His brow was tightly furrowed and his jaw clenched and unclenched. He wore jeans and a red T-shirt, a thick wedding band on his left hand.

A passing bus made his shaky voice barely audible.

"This is going to be hard for him, hard to get through it," said Commander Chris Sims, a Navy spokesman, before Hart spoke. Hart's two daughters, ages 10 and 13, were inside the house but did not speak.

"It's their first day back in the house," said Sims. "They just finished patching it and cleaning the inside today."

Hart's brother stood near him while he talked.

"Everybody knows what happened, of course," Hart said. "Me and my daughters, we're going to take a step forward, move on with our life, and rebuild here at our home."

Now, he said, he wants privacy so he can grieve.

Hart has been in his naval squadron for about 18 months, and is committed to serving another year and a half, said Command Master Chief Georgia Monsam. He and his wife would have been married 14 years next month.

"We know him as an outstanding officer, a family man, loving father and husband," said Monsam. "This has been very difficult for him."

The Navy will support Tracy Hart in his grief, give him time off and offer him counseling if he needs it, Monsam said.

"We'll work with him on what's best to bring him and the girls back to normalcy." *